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History 20 11/13/08 Greek Society The society of Minoan Crete, 3000-1400 BC Favorable trade winds Arise from Neolithic settlements (6000 BCE) Early “Minoan” people 2800 BCE begin trading Not ethnically “Greek” Unknown origins Minoan Civilization Emerge 2200 BCE United by “Minos” Unlike Egypt and Sumer – a “Sea Power” Artistic and commercial Emphasize trade over agriculture Syllabic alphabet (linear A) Layer of language absorbed by Greek Maritime Trade Between 2100 and 1600 develop vast commercial network Perfumed oils, ceramics, vases, paintings Importing raw materials from Egypt, metals, timber, textiles No walls, they control the sea Huge palaces with great storage facilities (centralize power and wealth In hands of ruler) Decline of Minoan society Series of natural disasters after 1700 BCE Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves Foreign invasions Indo-european invaders descend through Balkans into Peloponnesus, c. 220-1900 BCE Wanax (warrior0kings.lords) chariot-based power Establish small citadel-kingdoms throughout central and southern Greece Mycenaean society Conquered crete about 1450 BC Sack Knossos Absorb Minoan culture Trade networks Gods Aesthetics Adapt writing system to Linear B Linear A system adapted to Greek language Slaves (“import” skills of Anatolians) Fortified the palaces Military expansion throughout region Rule subject, non Greek speaking population by force Piracy Chaos in the Eastern Mediterranean Violent internal struggles Trojan war, c. 1200 BCE Homer’s The Iliad Sequel: The Odyssey Political turmoil from 1100 to 800 BCE Myeenaean civilization disappears Lives on in Iliad Bronze Age Collapse 1200-1100, eastern Mediterranean world order collapses Los of literacy, isolation, depopulation Earthquakes? Draught? Shift in military technology? Invasions from the north? Mass migrations & displacement Core civilizations survive (Egypt, Sumer( Outlying areas vanquish, populations disperse Greek Dark Ages 90% sites abandoned in Mycenean kingdoms Archaic Period 750-430 BCE Homer and Hellas The Iliad written down between 725 and 675 BC Kings, council, and assemblies Military progress of individual (archilles) Emphasis on personal glory, honor, defined individuality Hubris, irony, tragedy Wit, eloquence , cunning The gods Stories not moral examples Divine detachment Oracles – divine consultants, but no priestly caste All Greeks have access to the gods Aristocratic government Leading families control council and high offices Offices held by lot or limited by term Small populations Evolved in isolation with few external threats Cavalry versus chariot Trade and Integration of the Mediterranean Basin Colonization Greece, little grain, but rich in olives and grapes Colonies further trade Educated and artisanal slaves revive Greek culture from dark age Commerce rather than agriculture as a basis of much of economy Unified culture of Hellas/Hellenes Sense of collective identity Language Ethnicity Gods Arts/architecture Olympic games begin 776 BCE Polis/Metropolis (mother city) Colonies define themselves by their laws Culture is abstract, transportable Kouroi: statue fixed in a position next to the expanded relief of a building From 7th century to 5th century BCE, we see transformation to more detail and more from guard statue to aesthetic thing Pre-Socratic Greece (Those who lived before Socrates, d. 399 b.c.e.) 6th and 5th Centuries B.C. new philosophical program becomes critical of “magic” and seeks alternative “naturalistic” explanation This nature is law-like and can be controlled through knowledge (not sorcery) change the notion of the animistic, personal cosmos to an impersonal one They want to know how the universe worked, not just observe it, interrogate it. Some Pre-Socratic Thinkers Thales of Miletus 600? BCE Elements (Earth, air, fire, water) Materialism seek substantive model Pythagoras - 582 BC – circa 507 BCE Mathematical access to ultimate reality LEUCIPPUS fl. 430 BCE Nothing comes to be at random but everything for a reason and by necessity first to postulate atoms in empty space God as Divine Mind Not reliant on sense Epistemology: how do we know what we know? Logic Purify language of ambiguity Clarify first principles Method of reasoning Ratiocination rise above language and sense to understand divine mind Early politics of the Polis 8th century BCE, early archaic Homer: Kings, aristocratic councils and assemblies Small, tribal communities recognize a form of citizenship Deeply identify with the Polis not the Ruler Pass laws and live by them By 700 BCE, aristocracies replace kingship Checks on power Term limits Rule by lot/sortition The Sophists & Socrates Sophists Itinerant teachers to make you “sophisticated” Protagoras, “man is the measure” Extreme sophists Truth objectively unknowable Justice invented by the strong Religion as a means of social control Socrates (c. 470-399 BC) Questions to understand human values and institutions New political culture Dialectical reasoning Democracy and rhetorical persuasion Skepticism New premium on proof Empirical Mathematical Research program Nature network of related causes and effects The Polis Agora Acropolis Place where citizens met in assembly and passed laws Polis represents an ordered life Artistic creativity stimulated by greater participation in society Athenian society Maritime trade brings increasing prosperity beginning 7th c. BCE Aristocrats increasingly dominate smaller landholders Debt slavery Trading and merchant class left out Still rule of law and limits on public office Increasing socio-economic tensions Create class conflict & economic divide Encourage tyranny Early democratic reforms Draco 621 BCE Passes “Draconian” laws to which aristocrats are likewise subject Draconian: “harsh” Similar to Chinese legalism, where everyone is legally bound to the same laws Solon 594 BCE Aristocrats to keep large landholdings Poor are forgiven debts, ban on debt slavery Propose timocracy to incorporate new commercial elite Council of 400, broadens leadership Assembly of all adult males has veto power Removed family restrictions against participating public life Instituted paid civil service Perisistratus 560 BCE Comes to power elevated by lower classes Tyrant but rules alongside existing institutions Land redistribution program Urban poor sold their land but could not sell themselves now a problem Civic boosterism & “new deal” Massive public works, festivals and building programs focus on the city not on your group Spartans ally with Athenian aristocrats Don’t like democracy and its disorder Cleisthenes (c. 508 BCE) Aristocrat turned constitutional reformer Thwarts Sparta’s attempt to restore aristocratic rule in Athens Council of 500, 50 representatives appointed for each of 10 different Athenian distracts (poor still left out) Opens offices to all citizens Introduces ostracism to keep trouble makers in check Sparta Sparta plus Laconia equals Spartan Polis Lycurgus 750 BCE Mythical law-giver Highly militarized society to control threat of rebellion Subjugated peoples: helots Serfs, tied to land Outnumbered Spartans 10:1 by 6th c. BCE Spartan Politics Two Kings Council of Ephors and Equals over 60 Homoioi - The Equals They all belong to an assembly Perioikoi - Free but not equal Helots - state-owned slaved population Krypteia – secret police 550 BCE form Peloponnesian League Spartan Culture Ascetic Money of iron bars Discourage accumulation of wealth Frown on commerce and luxury Literacy is for sissies The brotherhood of arms Undermine family, promote ties between soldiers and to Sparta Infanticide Live in barracks Rare conjugal visits Return home after 30 Hoplite Warfare: Destabilize aristocratic foundations of military power ( cavalry) Large shields/ heavy equipment, requires soldiers have means Fighting in strict formation defines honor communally Support broadening of the franchise to reflect larger distribution of fighting power Classical Period The Persian Wars (499-479 BCE) Persian Empire Cyrus I “the Great” c. 585- 529 BCE Conquers Lydia, 546 BCE Rebellion of Ionian states in Asia Minor Athens sends military aid Burn Sardis, Lydian capital Persia responds 490 BCE. with attack on Eritria Defeated at Marathon Persian emperor Xerxes attacks in 480 BCE Thermopylae Battle of Salamis The Delian League Poleis create Delian League to forestall more Persian attacks Led by Athens “Free” Ionians from Persian rule by 449 BCE Athenians force democracy & their constitution on poleis Massive payments to Athens finances civic boosterism Resented by other poleis First Peloponnesian War (460-445 BCE) Athens enjoy naval supremacy over Southwest Asia Rhetoric of alliance but more like empire Excessive tribute Rich Athenians acquiring land unlawfully from “allies” Athens prevents Thasos from withdrawing from Delian League in 465 BCE Spartans form Peloponnesian League Recruit disgruntled poleis War breaks out in 460 Politics of Pericles (Ruled 461-429 BCE) Payment for public services Navy seeks representation High point of Athenian democracy Aristocratic but popular Massive public works Encouraged cultural development Funeral Oration (Pericles 431BCE) Our polity does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. It is called a democracy, because not the few but the many govern. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition." 2nd Peloponesian Wars (433-404 BCE) Sparta invades Attica Persian provided Navy Spartans sink ships Great plague, a third of Athens dies Alcibiades sends aid to Syracuse, 415 BCE Surrender of Athens, 404 BCE Persians assist Sparta Naval battles 404 Athens forced to surrender to Lysander Persians want provinces back Further conflict continued between Sparta and other poleis funded and assisted by Persians 396-386 BC Kings Peace Persians keep colonies of Asia minor Sparta retains dominance in Peloponnesus